Mold In Your Refrigerator And What To Do About It

If there is one thing that most people cannot stand, it is when you open the refrigerator and find that a jar of something you need at that moment such as mayonnaise or jelly has become contaminated with mold. Sometimes it is green or white and it grows either on the food itself or on the inside of the jar’s lid and you do not notice it is there until you are already scooping it out and putting it onto your bread. Yuck! A whole jar has just been wasted because of mold.

What about the other food near that jar? You should check to see if any other food in your refrigerator is contaminated with mold and throw it away immediately, especially if it is something that does not come in a jar. Leftovers, fruit, or vegetables that we often end up shoving into the back of the fridge and forgetting about are common mold hotspots in our refrigerators. Maybe you made too much food one night and you just have not had a taste for the leftovers or maybe you just have not gotten around to throwing it away.

Cleaning out your refrigerator of old and outdated items is one of the best ways to prevent mold from starting to grow inside your refrigerator. Wasting food is a bad thing to do no matter where you are and if you have any leftovers that have not been eaten up to around 48 hours after you originally prepared it, it is probably a good idea to get some Ziploc bags or Tupperware dishes and put this excess food in the freezer to eat at a later date.

Do not leave the vegetables or fruit in the plastic bags that you put them in when you pick them up from the produce section at your grocery store. This traps moisture inside the bag and it will cause your food to rot and eventually become moldy.

Any cracked eggs in the carton need to be removed. You should not buy a carton of eggs if any of the eggs appear to be cracked open; bacteria on the outside of the egg can get inside and begin to multiply.

Cheese is also a favorite food of mold in the refrigerator and if you see mold growing on a block of cheese (do not try to save individually wrapped slices), take a knife and cut an inch around the moldy spot and throw it away. Do not touch the mold with the knife and wash it immediately after.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.